For a press conference at the 10th Canada-United States Cross-Border Crime Forum

Remarks by the
Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety

Québec City, Québec
March 19, 2008
As Delivered

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is an honour to be here with my colleague [Rob Nicholson, Minister of Justice and Attorney General]. The goal of this conference is to allow individuals responsible for safety and security in the United States and Canada to share the projects, ideas, and initiatives that help reduce crime and threat of terrorism.  This is the 10th year that this conference has taken place and it's been an honour for us to welcome our colleagues from the United States on this 400th anniversary of the great city of Quebec. It has been my pleasure to share with them a bit of our history and to illustrate the importance of this location as so much of our country's foundation originated right here with the founding of this great city.

Each year, officers and heads of agencies from both sides of the border prepare their presentations so that we can see what areas of our work need strengthening. By listening to those who are tasked with keeping us safe and reducing crime and learning about their challenges and success, we who are responsible for policy and legislation can determine what actions need to be taken at the legislative, political and resource levels. That way we can ensure that our security agencies, both in the United States and Canada, are able to help reduce crime and the risk of terrorism. We have heard some very positive reports about real results on projects here today.

The integrated Cross-Border Maritime Law Enforcement Operations, or Shiprider concept of operations, for example, enables agents on both sides of the border to work together to combat the smuggling of contraband tobacco and firearms, as well as human trafficking.  It's just one example of a number of projects that have been tested and have yielded tangible results.

We will continue to pursue these types of policies.  We'll be looking at past successes to see how we can improve and strengthen the abilities of our security agencies to help ensure that our countries are every bit as safe and secure as our citizens expect. This is an ongoing process, which will continue even as we prepare for the next Cross-Border Crime Forum in a year from now.

I want to thank the Attorney General [Michael Mukasey, U.S. Attorney General] for his presence here. I also want to thank the many men and women whose agencies represent their country's concerns about safety and security, as well as my colleague, the Attorney General, Minister of Justice here in Canada.  This has been a great conference.